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MEMORIAL DAY PRESENTATION

Honoring those who fought for our freedom.

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COLOR GUARD

Creating a great Color Guard is the first step to producing a moving and respectful Memorial Day Ceremony.

Remember a few rules:

The American flag always flies at stage left, and never dips.

If using the rest of the Military Service Flags, there is an order to where every flag is flown. US, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

Reverent is the tempo for the Flag procession.

Music, Drum or Song will make the colors ceremony moving.

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INVOCATION

A prayer to bless the proceedings is always appropriate.

Example:

Heavenly Father, we come to you today asking for your guidance, wisdom, and support as we begin this Memorial ceremony.

Simple is better.

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HISTORY

Having the Emcee give the History of Memorial day is important to remember.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. ...

The History of Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War.

We now honor those fallen in any war or even tragic events tended to by 1st responders.

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EARLY OBSERVATIONS

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.

By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

Did you know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.

It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. And some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemoration was organized by a group of freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.

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GUN SALUTES

A 21-gun salute is the most recognized of

the customary gun salutes that are

performed by the firing of cannons or

artillery as a military honor.

The custom stems from naval tradition,

where a warship would fire its cannons

harmlessly out to sea until all ammunition

was spent to show that it was disarmed,

signifying the lack of hostile intent.

As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to

be fired for heads of state, or in exceptional

circumstances for heads of government,

with the number decreasing with the rank

of the recipient of the honor. 21 guns are

now used to honor fallen soldiers as the

highest honor bestowed a fallen hero.

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SPEECH , STORY OR PRESENTATION

A Keynote speaker is a great idea here. A

veteran with a good story or a story from

history you would like to tell. Words from a

past President are always a good choice.

Example:

“Today we are here to celebrate and to

honor and to commemorate the dead and

the living, the young men who in every war

since this country began have given

testimony to their loyalty to their country

and their own great courage.” JFK---

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TAPSThe origins of “Taps,” the distinctive bugle

melody played at U.S. military funerals and

memorials and as a lights-out signal to

soldiers at night, date back to the American

Civil War. In July 1862, U.S. General

Daniel Butterfield and his brigade were

camped at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia,

recuperating after the Seven Days Battles

near Richmond. Dissatisfied with the

standard bugle call employed by the Army

to indicate to troops it was time to go to

sleep, and thinking the call should sound

more melodious, Butterfield reworked an

existing bugle call used to signal the end of

the day. After he had his brigade bugler,

Private Oliver Wilcox Norton, play it for

the men, buglers from other units became

interested in the 24-note tune and it quickly

spread throughout the Army, and even

caught on with the Confederates.

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TAPS CONT.Not long after Butterfield created “Taps,” it was

played for the first time at a military funeral, for

a Union cannoneer killed in action. The man’s

commanding officer, Captain John Tidball,

decided the bugle call would be safer than the

traditional firing of three rifle volleys over the

soldier’s grave, a move which couldn’t been

confused by the nearby enemy as an attack. As

for the name “Taps,” the most likely explanation

is that it comes from the fact that prior to

Butterfield’s bugle call, the lights-out call was

followed by three drumbeats, dubbed the “Drum

Taps,” as well as “The Taps” and then simply

“Taps.” When Butterfield’s call replaced the

drumbeats, soldiers referred to it as “Taps,”

although this was an unofficial moniker,

according to “Taps” historian and bugle expert

Jari Villanueva. He notes that Butterfield’s bugle

call was officially known as “Extinguish Lights”

in American military manuals until 1891. Since

that time, “Taps” also has been a formally

recognized part of U.S. military funerals.

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TAPS HAS LYRICS

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BENEDICTION

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CONCLUSION COLOR GUARD REFORM

At this time recall the

colors and end your

ceremony. You can preform

a folding of the American

Flag or simply march it off

stage. You will then be

congratulated for a moving

and respectful ceremony.

Thank You